Photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Gary Ward
PEARL HARBOR – A 2014 Littleton High School graduate and Littleton, Colorado, native is serving in the U.S. Navy as part of the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC).
Fireman Leroy Lodewyk is serving aboard USS Carl Vinson, currently operating out of San Diego. A Navy fireman is responsible for maintaining and operating emergency equipment on the ship.
Lodewyk applies the lessons learned from Littleton to working in the Navy.
“I learned that patience is key, and that's helped me in the Navy,” said Lodewyk. "If you're not patient, it's going to be a whole lot harder for you.”
As the world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring safety at sea and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971.
The theme of RIMPAC 2018 is Capable, Adaptive, Partners. The participating nations and forces exercise a wide range of capabilities and demonstrate the inherent flexibility of maritime forces. These capabilities range from disaster relief and maritime security operations to sea control and complex warfighting. The relevant, realistic training program includes, gunnery, missile, anti-submarine and air defense exercises, as well as amphibious, counter-piracy, mine clearance operations, explosive ordnance disposal and diving and salvage operations.
“I'm most looking forward to seeing all the ships from the different navies around the world,” said Lodewyk. "I enjoy learning about new cultures.”
This is the first time Israel, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are participating in RIMPAC. Additional firsts include New Zealand serving as sea combat commander and Chile serving as combined force maritime component commander. This is the first time a non-founding RIMPAC nation (Chile) will hold a component commander leadership position.
“I'm most proud of being a part of the Navy and being able to get accepted in when I did,” said Lodewyk.
Twenty-six nations, 46 surface ships, five submarines, and more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel will participate in the biennial Rim of the Pacific Exercise. This year's exercise includes forces from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam.
As a member of the U.S. Navy, Lodewyk and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“The Navy is teaching me to ask for help when I need it instead of struggling on my own,” said Lodewyk. "Sometimes you need to put your pride aside because the teamwork here will help you out. Serving in the Navy means I'm doing my part serving the world's greatest nation, and defending our freedoms.”
Additional information about RIMPAC is available at http://www.cpf.navy.mil